Kiev , Ukraine -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The gunbattle was so close it rattled the walls .

I grabbed my camera and pointed it out the window , looking toward Independence Square . From more than 10 stories up , I filmed the chaos . Protesters were all around , ramming into the lines of police officers . Black smoke hung in the air . Gunfire rang out .

I saw a medic shot in the arm . He was helped to safety . I saw at least 20 wounded people carried away . But the gunmen could not be seen . There was panic . People looked skyward , scanning rooftops for snipers . At one point , a crowd of protesters stormed this hotel . They searched , floor to floor , trying to confirm a rumor that snipers were shooting from here .

Then there was another rumor about what was in the lobby of this hotel .

I clutched my camera and ran down the stairs . Little did I know then that I was about to see even more misery in what would turn out to be the worst day I 've seen since arriving in Kiev .

As I ran , I noticed bullet holes in the stairwell windows . Three had pierced through a second-floor window . Three more had shattered through another window .

And then I saw the bodies .

There were five bodies underneath the stairs , lifeless feet peeking out of the white sheets that covered them . There were more bodies lined up just feet from the reception desk . They were wrapped in white sheets and red splotches bled through .

A priest paced back and forth . We were told that the priest had blessed the bodies even though people were still trying to find out who the victims were . Protesters went through the pockets of the fallen , searching for identification cards .

We were told that the wounded and dying had to be brought to the closest place . That 's why this hotel had been chosen . There were no ambulances , just people struggling to drag in the fallen .

This happened just hours after the Ukraine government declared a truce in the fighting here that has shocked the world . Clearly , the truce had not held .

A day ago this looked like a typical hotel lobby . Now it was a makeshift morgue . I counted 11 bodies . We were told later that in all 13 people had been rushed into this hotel , three of them clinging to life . None of them made it .

On the other side of the lobby someone was wiping streaks of blood off the white marble floor . Outside , gunfire still rang out .

And they continue to bring in bodies .

CNN 's Todd Baxter dictated from Kiev , Ukraine . Lateef Mungin wrote from Atlanta .

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CNN cameraman describes filming chaos , clashes , gunshot victims

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He sees five bodies in a stairwell , more piled up in lobby of his hotel

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`` A day ago this looked like a typical hotel lobby . Now it was a makeshift morgue , '' he says